Shh, Don't Wake the Baby 

A Beginning Reading Design

By Maggie Cox 

 

Rationale:

This lesson teaches children about the correspondence sh = /sh/. In order to be able to read, children must learn to recognize the spellings that map out word pronunciations. In this lesson, children will learn to recognize, spell, and read words containing the phoneme /sh/ by learning a meaningful representation (mother saying “shh”), spelling and reading words containing the phoneme in a letterbox lesson, and reading a decodable book that focuses on the correspondence sh = /sh/.

 

Materials:

Graphic of shushing mother; cover-up critter; letterboxes, letter tiles: a, d, e, f, h, I, l (2), o, s; poster: shop, ash, dish, shell, shift, mish, slash; decodable text: The Crash in the Shed; assessment worksheet

 

Procedures:

1. Say: The alphabet is like a secret code. In order to become expert readers, we have to understand the code by learning the sounds letters make by themselves, or when they are combined with another letter. When we make the letter sounds, called phonemes, our mouth moves a certain way. We have already learned to read words with “slimy, slithering snake” s, like sit or sad, and we have learned to huff and puff when we read words with the letter h, like hand and hug. So today, we are going to learn the phoneme sh that says /sh/. When I say /sh/, I think of when my mom would tell me, “Shh, the baby is sleeping!” when my little sister was taking a nap [show graphic image].

2. Say: When we ask people to /sh/ [place pointer finger over lips, as in hushing], what shape does our mouth make? Our teeth are together and our lips purse out, right? So when I say the word fish, I feel my lips stick out and my teeth come together to make the /sh/ sound at the end of the word. Now I’m going to see if the phoneme is in floss. Hmm, I didn’t feel my teeth come together and my lips purse, and I didn’t hear any shushing in that word. Now you try. If you hear /sh/, place you finger in front of your lips like a shushing mother. Do you hear /sh/ in shop, loose, slosh, mash, slip, hints, leash? [Have children place pointer finger in front of pursed lips when they hear /sh/.]

3. Say: What if I want to spell the word dash? “The dog dashed across the street, chasing a squirrel.” Dash can mean to run quickly. If I want to spell dash in letterboxes, first I need to know how many phonemes are in the word, so I’ll stretch it out and count: /d//a//sh/. I heard three phonemes, so I need three boxes. I heard crying baby a says /a/ in the middle of the word, so let’s put it in our middle letterbox. The word starts with /d/, so I’ll put my d at the beginning. Now all I have is one empty box, but I’m not sure what to put in it so I’ll stretch out the word again. /d//a//sh/ [point to letters in boxes]. Oh, I heard /sh/ in there! Even though two letters make the phoneme /sh/, I put the two letters in one box because together, they make one sound. So, I’ll put an s and an h in the last box and now I’ve spelled the word dash.

4. Say: Now I want you to spell some words in letterboxes. First, we’ll try the simple word, ash, with only two letterboxes. Ash is the powdery black stuff that’s left after a fire. “There’s a lot of ash to clean out in the fireplace!” What should go in the first box? [Respond to children’s answers.] That’s right, and what about the second box? Very good. Don’t forget that two letters can make one sound when they’re together, so phonemes like /sh/ go in the same box. I’ll check your spelling while I walk around the room [observe progress]. You’ll need three letterboxes for the next word, dish. That dish is too small for the big meal you cooked; dish. [Allow children to spell words.] Alright, let’s check our answers. Watch how I spell dish in my letterboxes: d – i – sh and see if you’ve spelled it the same way. Let’s try another word with three boxes: shell; “I found a sea shell in the sand”; shell. [Have volunteer spell it in the letterboxes on the board for students to check their work. Repeat this step for each new word.] Our last word is a four phoneme word, so make sure you have four boxes. Shift; “I shift the sand to look for shells”; shift. Remember to stretch out this tough word to make is easier to spell.

5. Say: Now, I want you to see how I read a tough word and then I want you to give it a try. [Display poster with shape.] First, I see that there’s a silent e on the end, so I know that the a will say its name. I’m going to use a cover-up, like our cover-up critter, for the first part [uncover and blend]. S – h, there’s our “/sh/, don’t wake the napping baby”, /a/, like a crying baby, but there's a sneaky, silent e, so I know a will say its name. Last, there's a popcorn p, /p/. /sh//a//p//e/, shape. Now, I want you all to give it a try as a class. [Have children read words in unison. Afterwards, call on individuals to read one word on the list until everyone has had a turn.

6. Say: You all read those words so well, so let’s buddy read a book called The Crash in the Shed. This book is about two friends named Ben and Jess, who can't make up their minds on if they should collect fish or seashells. All of the sudden, they hear a crash in the shed and it sounds like trouble! While you read with your partner, look for words with the phoneme, /sh/. [After students find a partner and read together, ask students what words they found containing /sh/ and write them on the board. Ask if they can think of any other words with the /sh/ sound, as well.]

 

Assessment:

Each student will be given a worksheet with pictures representing words, such as ship and bush, and will write the corresponding word in the blank beside the picture. If the word contains the /sh/ phoneme, they are to circle the picture, also. In the next section, students must read a word and are asked to draw a simple picture to illustrate it, as well as write a sentence describing the picture. [Collect worksheets to evaluate individual child progress.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References:

Geri Murray, Oh, I didn’t know!: A Beginning Reading Lesson,       <https://auburn.instructure.com/courses/872500/pages/lesson-design-materials>.

 

Haley Dykes, Sh, Sh, It’s Sheila the Shark!   <http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/journeys/dykesbr.htm>.

 

Lindsay Graves, Shhhhhh the Baby is Sleeping!         <http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/constr/gravesbr.html>.

 

Murray, Geri. The Crash in the Shed. Reading Genie Collection, 2006.        <http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/bookindex.html>.